Konkurs za kratku horor priču

25. 11. 2025.

Povodom praznika Noć veštica u Gimnaziji „Stefan Nemanja“ je organizovano takmičenje u pisanju kratkih horor priča, u okviru časova engleskog jezika. Ovaj kreativni izazov privukao je veliki broj učenika, koji su žiri oduševili svojom maštom i talentom.

U jakoj konkureniciji, žiri je za pobednicu konkursa izabrao Teodoru Dragović, učenicu prve godine umetničkog smera. Njena priča je osvojila prvo mesto zahvaljujući originalnosti i upečatljivosti. Čestitamo Teodori na ovom izuzetnom uspehu i zahvaljujemo svim učesnicima što su svojim radovima obogatili ovo takmičenje!

Following the black tail

“Anastasia! We’re playing truth or dare! Hurry!“ My best friend, Trish, called out. I smiled and excitedly ran upstairs with a few bags of chips. „Coming!” I shouted back.

When I got to my room, everyone was settled in a circle, all in pajamas. Trish had my black cat, Astrid, in her lap, both looking very comfortable and cuddly with each other. Astrid doesn’t usually cuddle with anybody except me, so it was a bit weird that she was purring in Trish’s lap, but nevermind that, we’re all just here to have fun.

“Move aside, girls! I’m playing too!“ I say as I place the bags of chips in the middle of the circle. “So who’s first?“ Trish asked in a cheerful manner, gently petting Astrid, who was peacefully purring in her lap. „Me! I wanna ask first!” Shouted Violet, the youngest of all of us. We all agreed and let her have the first round. The questions were mostly about crushes and the dares were just stupid challenges until… Finally…

“Anastasia! Truth… Or dare?” Trish asked me with the intensity I’ve seen in her before. She was planning something…

“Hmmm… Dare. I pick dare.” I was sure she couldn’t think of something that challenging, it was safer than having to tell anyone about my crush on her brother.

“I dare you to…” She looked as if she was struggling to remember anything good until… „I dare you to stare at two mirrors for 10 minutes straight.“ I stared at her. „What…?” I felt a chill go down my spine, but I tried to laugh it off. “You know! That thing when you put one mirror above your head and the other one in front of you so they’re facing each other and then stare at them.” She said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her face. Another chill. I couldn’t back out now. „Alright, I’ll do it!”

As I got up to find the mirrors, Astrid immediately started meowing. Something felt off.

I think Violet noticed my unease because she asked if I’m sure I wanna do this. “Yeah, of course! I’m not a coward!” I laugh, but it’s fake. I can only thank God that nobody noticed.

Soon enough, we found two mirrors and set them up as instructed on some sketchy website. Astrid started meowing louder than before, more urgently, but nobody paid attention to her so I ignored her too.

I sat in the chair and started staring at the mirror in front of me that also reflected the one above my head, creating a million reflections inside each one. That’s when Astrid started scratching at my leg, drawing blood, but not much of it. I still paid no mind to her.

I kept staring at the mirror, soon, my face began to shift a bit, but that’s normal for this type of challenge. But then, the mirror cracked. Just one large line across the glass. I looked away, back to the wall of my room. But it also changed… The color seemed duller, like it had been there for years.

“Trish? Violet? Girls…?” I called out, but nobody answered. I looked around the room, it was empty, like nobody was ever there. The only alive thing was… Astrid… The same cat who was practically whaling five minutes ago was silent, staring up at me like she was judging me.

I went to open the door to my room, which also seemed yellowed and a bit cracked. I had recently replaced it. It couldn’t get this way in just minutes… Right?

The door opened with a loud creak, the hinges seemed worn out and red with rust. I stepped out of the room, looking around a bit before walking down the stairs. They creaked as if they were there for years and not brand new like they were. I crept down the stairs before one of them broke under my weight. The pain was sharp and instant, but I didn’t scream, didn’t even make a sound, I was too freaked out.

I quickly freed my foot and went down the rest of the stairs carefully, not stepping on my injured foot. The pictures on the wall seemed like they were watching me, their smiles twisted and broken somehow. I limped through the endless hall as fast as I could. The gazes on me felt too much, everything felt too much.

When I finally exited the house I realized Astrid followed me all the way, but now, she wasn’t looking at me anymore, she was staring up at the house. When I finally looked up, I realized half of my house was demolished… The room of which I just came out of was gone… Like it was never there. The whole roof was gone along with the upstairs rooms. The house looked cracked all over, the windows broken, walls falling apart. I couldn’t believe it.

I covered my mouth, unable to comprehend what I was seeing. Astrid meowed, pulling me out of my trance. She started walking down the street before stopping and looking back at me, she wanted me to follow her, I could feel it.

As we walked through the streets of the town I thought I knew, it seemed worn out, like it had been abandoned for years. The streets that I thought I memorized looked like they were changing more with every step I took. The shadows moved unnaturally. I still felt like I was being watched. I kept turning around, trying to catch whatever was stalking me, but whenever I turned, there was nothing.

I kept following Astrid until she came to a stop at the old church. As soon as I stepped onto the holy ground, I heard a high-pitched, bloodcurdling scream deep in the city. Flinching, I turned around, but Astrid immediately meowed frantically and ran towards the church. I followed her because, frankly, if she was scared, I should be too.

When I walked into the church, I saw that there was a large pool of holy water in the center. There wasn’t anything else in the room, no chairs, no books, no crosses. Just that one pool.

I slowly walked towards it with shaky steps,but as soon as I looked inside, I was yanked back against the wall.

“Hello Anastasia…”

No… It can’t be…